Similar to virtually any building, healthcare facilities, such as hospitals, require construction and maintenance including tasks necessitating access to areas that cannot be regularly cleaned, such as within walls or above a ceiling. However, unlike many other facilities, healthcare and other facilities include requirements related to cleanliness and minimizing the risk of hospital acquired infections (HAIs) caused by hazardous airborne contaminants. There is a need to protect patients and employees from exposure to construction particles that can potentially transmit airborne infectious diseases.
The design of products, such as maintenance/construction carts, that facilitate wall and ceiling access in sensitive environments is challenging because there are a large number of demanding requirements and desired features, some of which compete with each other. For instance, in addition to isolating the non-sanitized construction/maintenance environment from the sanitary healthcare environment, it is desirable that such products be compact, lightweight, easily transported, powered, operated, maintained, cleaned, and stored. It is desirable that these products be durable and able to function in numerous different environments, as well as economical to purchase and operate.